404 Error Flight Not Found
by pandorabox82
Summary: When the team is called away to a crime conference in Australia, they find themselves mingling on board their planes with members of the YouTube community. When one of the flights goes down somewhere off the coast of Australia, will anyone's life be the same?
1. Chapter 1

"So, remind me again why we agreed to do this?" Rossi asked irritably, looking around at everyone assembled. "I mean, Erin and I just got back together and Blake was just making er way in a new job, and suddenly we're traipsing off to Australia. Don't they have experts Down Under?" he asked sarcastically, piercing Hotch with his gaze.

"Section Chief Cruz was asked to choose which of his teas would go, and of course, he chose the best. Now, we leave tomorrow morning from our airfield out to LAX. Garcia, I believe that you have more details on our flight over to Australia?"

She nodded and stood up, the remote in her hand. "All right, if you'll allow me to fangirl a bit here, we are going to Australia at the same time as a high profile YouTube convention. In fact, we're going to be in neighboring hotels, so I am going to be heading over for a few panels, especially the Hartbig Squared panel. I'm even thinking about bringing my carrot onesie!"

Hotch cleared his throat, and she blushed deeply as she looked at their leader. "All right, we get it, this is a big thing for you, but we really need to go over the last minute details."

"Right, sorry. So, because there will be a number of people heading to Australia for said YouTube convention, I was unable to secure us all seats on the same flight. Flight A will have Reid, Blake, JJ, Morgan, and Callahan. Flight B is the rest of us, including Erin. I've already sent her her personalized itinerary, so she could be with her kids today." She glanced at Rossi, and he shrugged a little at the frown she gave him. "Now, we've also been asked to do some individual panels. Reid, you and Blake will be working giving a talk on linguistic forensics, while Rossi and Hotch will be hosting a panel on hostage negotiation."

"What about us, Baby Girl?" Derek asked, winking broadly.

"You, my sweet chocolate god, are going to be discussing undercover work with Callahan. JJ and I will be on panels regarding relationships with the media and technology, respectively." She let out a soft sigh. "I've made informational packets up for each of you, along with sample itineraries, based on the panels that you are already attached to. Since Sydney is fourteen hours ahead of us, and our flight takes off from LAX at two, we are going to be exhausted when we arrive. I would suggest staying up as late as possible tonight, since we are going to arrive in Sydney at noon, their time."

Everyone nodded, and Hotch stood up once more, joining Garcia at the front. "Now, I realize that not everyone is happy about having to go on this trip, but it will be good for our team to bond and adjust to the change in personnel." He looked between Blake and Callahan, a touch of a smile gracing his lips. "Now, let's head out and begin our last minute preparations for the week ahead of us."

They all nodded, and Rossi frowned once more as he ambled from the room. His cellphone rang and he pulled it off his belt, looking at the display to see Erin's face looking back up at him. He answered quickly, bringing the phone to his ear. "Yes, bella?" he bit out, not really in the mood to talk to her in that moment.

"Um, I have us all packed. I had to pull out our spring and winter clothes, since the seasons are opposite. I hope you don't mind my taking care of this for you already."

He ran his free hand through his hair, his lips pursing into a thin line as he stared at Penelope's door. He couldn't help but feel like she had somehow arranged this so that she could meet some of her favorite people. "No, I'm sure that whatever you've packed will be fine, Erin. I should be home in about forty minutes. Penelope said that we should plan on staying up late, because of the time difference, I know how we can pass the time."

"Your mind always seems to go back to that lately." There was a certain sense of loneliness in her voice, and he wondered what had put that there. After all, they seemed to have a strong relationship, at least in his mind. "All right, I suppose that we can explore each other some more after supper. I'll see you when you get home."

She hung up without saying to him that she loved him, which was unusual for her, and he frowned at the display before shoving the phone back into its holder. Penelope was just coming out of her office, and she waved to him, a happy grin on her face. He gave a half-hearted wave back, and the smile on her face faltered a bit.

She scurried over to him, looking anywhere but in his eyes. "Is everything okay, Rossi?"

"I'm just a little frustrated, Kitten. I'm supposed to be working on my next true crime book, but this conference is going to eat up valuable eating time. And I'm assuming you've built in vacation days for us, which again, will take up more writing time."

"Oh," she said, her voice sounding too small for her personality, and a part of him ached for hurting her. "I'm sorry. But Chief Cruz really did ask for us to go, it's just a thing of kismet that the YouTube convention is happening at the same time. And the vacation days are going to be afterwards, so I won't even really get to attend much of it, since I'm not going to have that much downtime."

Rossi watched her swipe at her cheek, and he cursed to himself, hating that he had made her cry. "I know, Kitten. Come here." He held up an arm, and she stepped into the embrace, her head coming to rest on his chest. "I guess I'll see you at the airfield tomorrow morning, then."

"Uh huh. Have a good night." Her voice was still sad, and he watched her trudge out to the elevators, nodding to something that Blake said as she passed her. The older woman looked up at him, frowning before turning to follow after Garcia, resting a hand on her shoulder as they waited for the elevators together.

"Well, I guess I really did step in it this time, Rossi," he muttered to himself as he ambled down towards the elevators the moment the women had gotten on their own car. As he waited for the next one, he thought about the situation at hand, wondering how he could turn lemons into lemonade. After all, he had never been to Australia in his life, and this could be good for his relationship with Erin, giving them a chance to be away from all the pressures that life in the States gave them.

"So, what did you do to piss Penelope off?" Derek asked, joining him.

He looked at the other man, and tightened his lips into another frown. "I don't think that I did anything, Derek. This is just not an ideal situation for me to be in at the moment."

"Do you think it is for any of us? Hotch can't even bring Jack and Jessica along with him, and JJ can't bring Henry. This is a working trip, and Baby Girl somehow managed to finagle a few extra days for us to bond as a team afterwards. At least you get to have your lover with you."

Rossi had the good graces to blush as he took a deep breath, stepping into the elevator car. "I suppose there is that," he said lowly, a sense of frustration and fear filling his senses. Somehow, he knew that this was not going to turn out the way that everyone wanted it to, and he wondered who would be left to pick up the pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yo! Smellbig! Are you ready to head out to the airport?" Hannah asked, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for her friend to emerge from upstairs. "You know Swike is waiting for us out in the car already!"

"Shove it, Farto, I'll be down in a moment! I just have to find my passport…"

"Fuck, Grace, really? You couldn't have done that last night?" Turning, she yanked her front door open, yelling to Swike. "Grace can't find her fucking passport, I'm going to head upstairs and find it for her!"

The other woman just shook her head as she waved her inside. Hannah gave her a wide grin before flipping around and heading back inside and bounding up the stairs into the disastrous mess that Grace called her room. The young woman was dancing around the room rapidly, her arms flailing as she moved things from one pile to another in an effort to find the missing document. "I cannot believe this is happening! I put it in a safe spot so that I would know right where it was this morning. And now it's gone! You don't think that Goose somehow ate it, do you?" Grace wailed as she flopped down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"No, Goose did not eat it. Or, at least I'm hoping that he didn't. Come on, close your eyes and think about when you last saw your passport."

Grace did as she asked, allowing Hannah to watch her without getting caught staring. "What now?" she peevishly asked Hannah, to which she laughed heartily. "Farto?"

"Relax! And think about the passport."

Grace nodded and fell silent, obviously wracking her brain. While she was occupied, Hannah began to quietly look around the room, using her knowledge of Grace and how her mind worked to narrow down the possible places that the passport could be hiding. Silently snapping her fingers, she opened the drawer on the nightstand, pulled out Grace's journal, and opened the cover. "Is this what you were tearing apart your room to find?" she asked triumphantly, holding the passport aloft.

Grace's eyes snapped open and she focused on the thin book. "Yes! Where did you find it?"

"Hiding in your journal so that you wouldn't forget to bring either with you. Now come on, we have to get a move on. The security lines are going to be ridiculous as it is."

She nodded and held her hand out expectantly. It was Hannah's turn to roll her eyes as she grabbed hold of it and tugged Grace to her feet. "I didn't even think about that. Let's go!" Grace closed her hand tightly around Hannah's and fairly dragged her down the stairs, picking up the carry-on bag as they ran by, the door slamming closed behind them.

"Sarah! We found it just in the nick of time!" Hannah said as she clambered back into the passenger seat of the car. The woman arched an eyebrow as she backed out of the driveway and began the trek to the airport. "Or rather, I found it. Grace would still be searching if I hadn't stepped in."

"Whatever, Hannah. I just hope that Chester isn't too upset that we're going to Australia and he isn't."

Grace sighed as she stared out the window, and Hannah tried to tamp out the feelings of jealousy that quickly arose at the sound of that name. It wasn't that she didn't like the guy, she just felt that he was completely wrong for her Grace. Blushing a little at the possessive thought, she let her eyes fall on Swike, taking in the bemused smile she wore. A small pout was all it took to get her to start talking. "Well, you could always Skype with him, when you have a free moment."

An exaggerated sigh slipped from Grace's lips as she shook her head wildly. "No, I can't do that. The time difference is going to be too much, and I wouldn't want to keep him up when he could be sleeping. I suppose that I'll just have to be content with sending him emails and posting on his wall."

"Yeah, it's such a hard life that we lead, isn't it?" Hannah muttered as she pulled out her phone and called up her reservation once more. "What time did you say our plane left?" she asked, looking at the departure time on her itinerary.

"Our flight takes off at two in the afternoon, why?"

"Because the confirmation email that I received yesterday says that my flight doesn't take off until quarter to three. So, which one is right?"

"Huh," Sarah said as she pulled out her phone and handed it to Hannah without looking. "Check my email. I'm more than certain that I didn't look at the time wrong. Grace, what time does it say on your confirmation?"

Hannah tapped away on Sarah's phone as she listened for Grace's answer. "I'm at a quarter to three, also, Swike. What does it say for Sarah, Harto?"

"Jeez, give me a second here, this isn't my phone." She frowned as she had to reenter some information, finally getting Swike's email to pop up. She was more than glad though, that the woman loved to keep things neat and orderly, since everything pertaining to the con was in a separate folder from the rest of her mail. Touching that folder, she once more waited for the information to pop up, and then she chose the email confirming their flights. "The fuck?!"

"What is it?" Sarah asked, a touch of panic in her voice.

"We're on separate flights! You and Mamrie are flying out at two, Grace and I are flying out at quarter to three. I thought that we were all going to be together?"

"I told the travel agent to get us there whatever way possible. This was a last minute thing, so maybe most of the other YouTube people got on the earlier flight."

"Maybe." Hannah felt herself start to pout, wanting them to be together on a long ass flight. "God, this is going to suck so bad!"

"What? Having to talk to me for the entire flight?" Grace asked, sounding rather put out.

"No, not being together! That was what I like, especially when we're going to be over water for so much of the flight. I mean, if something was to happen to us, I want to go out with the people who mean the most to me in the world."

Grace sniffled a little in the back seat, and Hannah tried to not let out a low growl of frustration. She hadn't meant to make her friend cry, and yet that is exactly what had happened. "I don't think that we're going to die, Hanners. Why are you being so morbid?"

Hannah shrugged, unable to pinpoint exactly why she was feeling a vague sense of unease at the upcoming flight. She had learned long ago, though, to give weight to those feelings, since they often proved to be true. "I just like to have a contingency plan for my contingency plan," she finally said, looking at Sarah once more.

"I know, I just want to think that everything is going to be perfect. And we are so heading to a zoo where we can pet a koala before we head back to California." Grace reached up and squeezed her shoulder softly, trying to reassure Hannah. She only hoped that the optimism was completely warranted.


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you, have a great day!" Penelope called out to the TSA woman as she exited the line. Heading over to a chair, she pulled her shoes on before slinging her satchel over her shoulder and looking around for Erin and Dave. She knew that their being on the same flight would make for an interesting time, especially since she knew that Erin was having serious misgivings about her relationship with the man.

Hotch came up to her, a deep frown on his face. Penelope did her best to smile at him, though, trying to feel more confident than she really was. "Hey, where did Erin disappear to?"

"She went to call her children one last time before the flight. I have to ask, Penelope, did Cruz really approve this trip, or did you make it seem like he wanted us to do this?"

She couldn't stop the glare that settled on her features as she looked at him. "Seriously, Hotch? I know better than to play games like this. If I had really wanted to go on this trip, if this was nothing more than a coincidence for me, I would have finagled it so that Jessica, and Will, and Henry, and Jack, were all with us. I would never have left them behind."

Penelope had to fight the urge to reach up and smack him, knowing that such a reaction would likely end up getting her a reprimand in her file at the very least, suspended at the very worst. He nodded, seemingly mollified by her vehemence, and she rolled her eyes a little as she slung her laptop bag over her shoulder and turned to look for Erin.

Finding her waiting near the Starbucks close to their gate, she lifted her chin in acknowledgement before stalking off in her direction. Not really looking where she was going, she managed to barrel into a short, slim, girl. "Sorry," she said off-handedly before taking a second glance. "OMG."

"Shh, I'm supposed to be incognito," the young woman lisped, giving her a cheeky grin. "Grace is getting us coffee for the flight."

Penelope nodded dumbly, still trying to take in the fact that she had nearly run down the one and only Hannah Hart. "That was actually where I was headed to. My friend Erin and I are going to try and forget about the fact that her lover is being a jackass right now. And I'm babbling. I meet one famous person, and I turn into a blithering idiot."

Hannah giggled a little as she shrugged. "I tend to do the same thing. So, want to walk over there together?"

Penelope nodded and began to make her way over to Erin's side. "Look who I found!" she stage whispered, giving her friend a wide grin. "This is so cool! That must mean we're going to be on the same flights."

"Oh, are you going to Australia, too?" Hannah asked as she hooked her thumbs into her belt loops.

"We are. There's a law enforcement convention that we're headed to, and I'm giving a talk about computer forensics. Erin, here, is going to talk about the psychology of keeping a profiling team sane with the job we do." Penelope was so glad to see that the young woman's eyes didn't glaze over at the mention of their jobs, as so often happened. "I'm just sad that I'll miss most of your convention, since I had hoped that I'd be able to finagle a ticket to your panel."

"Well, we're always free for drinks in our hotel bar."

She had to fight the urge to nod excitedly, not wanting to scare Hannah off, or make her think that she was a creeper or something. Just as she was about to answer in the affirmative, though, Grace came up and thrust a venti sized cup at Hannah. "I see you've made new friends already, Hannah. Why does that not surprise me?" She turned to look at Erin and her, smiling widely. "I'm Grace."

"Penelope."

"Erin," her friend said as she extended her hand towards Grace. Penelope watched the handshake before taking a deep breath and holding her hand out. "We're on flight 404, so I'm afraid that we have to greet and run, if we're to get coffee before we take off. It was nice to meet you two."

"Hey! We're on the same flight!" Hannah exclaimed, a grin on her face. "It must have been fate that you almost bulldozed me. We'll save you two a seat at the gate."

They waved to each other, and the moment the pair was out of sight Penelope turned to Erin, and let out a tiny squeal. "Erin! Pinch me!"

The older woman cocked her head to one side as she shook it slowly. "Penelope Garcia, you are not allowed to fangirl for the entire flight. I need my friend to talk to."

Penelope sighed as she nodded, knowing that Erin really did need an open ear to listen to her issue. "I know, hon. And I'll try to not be too over the top. It's just, how lucky are we that I get to be in the same space as Hannah Hart and Grace Helbig for an extended period of time! She even invited me to have drinks with them one night!"

A tiny smile darted across Erin's lips before she shook her head. "Do you need me to chaperone this little get together?"

"I'd rather you come as a friend. I'm sure that Mamrie can have the bartender whip up some delicious nonalcoholic drinks, given that she was once a bartender herself." She let her smile soften as she reached out for Erin's hand, threading their fingers together as they got in line for their coffee.

After they had placed their order, Penelope was quick to pay, not wanting to let Erin do so. "I can pay, I have money."

"I know, but I want to take care of you for a little bit. Now, did you and Rossi make up at all? Or are you still needling each other?"

Erin sighed as she shook her head. "I feel like we're farther apart than ever. Everything that I seem to do just upsets him, and I'm walking on eggshells, and I feel really close to drinking. It has been such a struggle to move on from what John Curtis did to me, and all I want to do is hide away from the world for a few months, to rest, to heal. I can't do that when I'm constantly worrying about upsetting my lover."

"Oh, my dear Erin, you can't keep doing that to yourself."

"I know." Erin gazed at her, and she could see the tears that were pooling in the corner of the older woman's eyes as she struggled to blink them away. "Just, be gentle with me on this trip?"

"As if I could ever be anything but." And then, Penelope leaned in and brushed her lips against Erin's cheek, wanting to comfort her. A soft shudder tore through her body as Erin leaned into the touch, and they sighed in unison as Penelope heard their names called out by the barista. "That's us. Come on, maybe if we hurry, we can get to know Hannah and Grace a little better."

Erin nodded silently as they grabbed their cups and headed off to their gate.


	4. Chapter 4

"Is this seat taken?" Mamrie asked as she pointed to the empty seat next to the bookish young man. He looked up from the magazine that he was reading and nodded, giving her a friendly smile before setting the magazine aside. "Are you a YouTuber, too?"

He shook his head. "I'm Spencer Reid, I work with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico. We're headed to Australia to speak at a different sort of con. I take it that you're a vlogger?"

"Yeah, Mamrie Hart." She extended her hand, and he shook it firmly. She noticed the slightly blank look on his face, and knew that he had no idea who she was. "I'm also an author? My book is called _You Deserve a Drink_?"

"Sorry, most of my time is taken up with technical manuals and linguistic journals. Are you some sort of bartender, then?"

He seemed genuinely interested in her, and she responded in kind to him. "I was. Now that I'm sort of famous, I spend my time with my friends and make crazy videos. I'll have to show you a few while we're on the plane. If we sit together, that is."

"Well, we're not in first class, so we probably won't be near each other."

Mamrie couldn't stop the loud chortle that escaped her lips, and she watched the way Spencer tilted his head, as if he was analyzing her. "Like I can fucking afford first class. I make some money, but not that much! We're in business class."

"We?"

"Yeah, my friend's manager, Sarah Weichel, is flying on this plane, too. Hannah and Grace got stuck on the other plane somehow. I cannot wait to hear the stories of all the people they pissed off with their antics."

It was his turn to laugh, and she furrowed her brow a little as she kept her eyes on him. "Sorry, it's just that my boss in on that flight. He's a bit uptight at times, so I'm assuming that we'll hear stories as well. I can only imagine…wait. Hannah, as in Hannah Hart?"

"Oh, so you know her, but you don't know me?" she teased, and he shook his head. "Then how do you know her name?"

"Our technical analyst is a huge Hannah Hart fan. She was gushing about the fact that she would be in the same city as her when we were briefed on this trip. Penelope is going to be in seventh heaven when she finds that out. I can only imagine Hotch's mood when he gets off this flight."

Mamrie couldn't help but laugh at the look on Spencer's face. "I sort of wish that I could be there to see that," she finally said as she got control of her laughter.

"No, you really don't. Hotch can be sort of intimidating when he's upset. Though, I'm sure that your Hannah will have some good stories to pass on."

She nodded as they announced that their flight was boarding. "Well, here we go. What row are you again?"

"Row twelve, seat A. And you?"

"Row fourteen, seat F. Boo."

"Well, we could always switch seats during the flight. Since it's going to such a long one, getting up and letting the blood circulate freely will be imperative to keep from getting clots."

She nodded as she stood, shouldering her carryon bag as she looked around for Swike. Seeing the woman, she nodded before looking back at Spencer. "Well, I'll see you on the plane then. It was really nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Spencer replied before standing as well, slinging a messenger bag across his chest before making his way over to an older, brunette, woman. As Mamrie watched, the pair quickly slipped into a deep conversation, and a wide smile spread across the woman's lips as she looked around him to gaze at her.

"Who was that?" Swike asked as she came up to her.

"His name is Spencer, he works with the FBI, and he's a doctor."

"I see," Swike replied as she readjusted the bag on her shoulder. "And you like him?"

"He's interesting. You know that I love finding people like that. And he's an FBI agent. It could come in handy to know one, just in case anything should ever happen."

Swike laughed loudly as they got in line, shaking her head a little. "Well, I suppose that that would be a good thing. Though I don't know what crimes you're planning on committing in the future, and when you decide to commit them, let me know well enough in advance so that I can get out of the way."

Mamrie shrugged a little as they moved forward slowly. Soon, they were on the jetway, and Mamrie started tapping her foot, wanting to be on board already. It was going to be a long flight, she had known that from the beginning, but a sudden desire to just get there already filled every fiber of her being the longer that they just stood there, unmoving.

"…Chomsky is so overrated," her ears picked up a moment later, and she turned her head to see Spencer talking animatedly with the same brunette from earlier. Pulling out her phone, she called up Wikipedia and searched for the name, hoping that she had spelt the name correctly. A few seconds later, a long article on the man popped up on her screen, and she felt her eyes widen as she realized just how intelligent Spencer, and by association, his companion, was.

"If you're not careful, those eyes of yours will pop out," Swike said.

Mamrie shrugged a little as she shoved the phone into her friend's hand. "Here, see for yourself. I cannot make heads or tails of that, and they're talking about it like it was how to make a cocktail." She pouted a little, thinking about how there had been something there when she had talked with the man, and knowing that they were light years apart in terms of education.

"Sweetie, he would probably think that making mixed drinks was a foreign language. Everyone has their strengths, and while his seems to be something really brainy, doesn't mean he's not human. If you like him, engage him in conversation. There is going to be a lot of time on this flight to get to know someone."

She nodded as they moved forward once more, finally getting on the plane. The layout was such that there would be an aisle and two other seats separating her from Spencer, and she let her shoulders slump as she shoved her carry on into the overhead bin.

Swike plopped down into the seat by the window, and she frowned a little, trying hard not to glare. "Oh, did I forget to tell you? I bought the seat in between us, too. Just in case you want to invite Spencer over to talk a little more about Chomsky." There was a mischievous glint in the blonde's eyes, and Mamrie had to fight to keep from smacking her on the shoulder, not wanting to get kicked off the flight before she got to know a new friend better.


	5. Chapter 5

Erin fought the urge to flag a flight attendant down and beg for a tiny bottle of overpriced, shit, alcohol. The few words that she and David had exchanged had been fraught with tension and anger, and she didn't know how she was going to make things better. Or if she wanted to make them better. After all, she couldn't be the one to always make concessions.

Thumping back against the seat, she pulled out her iPad and opened her picture stream, looking at her beloved children and suddenly wishing that she had stayed home with them, rebuilding their relationship, rather than following after her boyfriend. Unable to stop herself, she let out a scoffing sound that caught his attention, and he turned his head to look at her. "What is your problem now, Erin?" he bit out, and she shrank away from his a little.

"I don't have a problem, David," she bit out, trying to find her center, to find a way to calm her raging heart.

"The tone of your words would say otherwise. Do you need to join the mile high club? Will that put you in a better mood?"

Rage, pure and hot, flared up in her chest as she drew in an angry breath through her nose. "David James Rossi, I would dearly love to pretend that I didn't hear those words fall from your lips. I can't."

"Of course you can't, you never could let anything go." His flip remark cut her to the marrow of her bones, and she fought back the tears that were rapidly filling her eyes. "Tears? From you? Haven't you cried enough?"

"I almost died, David…"

"So you love to remind me. Your death is a specter that looms over us, and nothing that I do can ever make you forget the fact that it was Aaron who was holding you on that street that night, not me. Will you ever forgive me for that?"

"I forgave you a long time ago, you just never accepted the fact that I've changed! I'm not the woman I once was, you can't expect me to be her anymore!"

Somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that they were yelling at each other, that everyone on the plane was listening in, but she couldn't find a way to calm her roiling heart. Looking up, she met Penelope's eye, and pleaded silently for her help. Just as the younger woman made to get up, though, she felt a warm hand on her upper arm, and she whipped her head around to see that Hannah was standing there, a concerned look on her face. "Hey, I just thought that maybe you'd like to come up and visit me in first class for a bit," she said, and Erin detected a slight lisp in the young woman's voice.

She paused a moment, grateful for the momentary distraction. "Thanks, Hannah, but I think that I'm going to be okay."

"All right, but if you need anything, just ask me or Smellbig."

They shared a smile and she nodded before shooing the woman away. Dave was glaring at her, though, and she took a deep breath, wondering if he was going to pick up their fight from where it have been interrupted. "Please…"

"Please, what, Erin? Seriously, who the fuck was that?"

"Her name is Hannah Hart, we bumped into each other in line at Starbucks before we took off. She is a sweet, earnest, woman."

"And why would she think that you might need something?" His voice was deadly soft, and she winced a little before bracing herself for the tirade that was about to come. "Well? Speak up!"

"I'm just so tired, Dave. I thought that we could work things out, that what happened to me wouldn't affect how you see me. But it has, and there's no way that I can fix that. You look at me like I'm broken, and I'm not. You don't hold me, or tell me the things that you love about me anymore. And it is like a shard of glass driven into my heart each time you ask for sex and focus only on your own pleasure."

She was breathless by the time she finished her tirade, and he just stared at her, as if he had never seen her before. "That is such a load of bullshit, Erin! You are the one who pulled away from me first! Nothing I did was ever good enough for you, after you returned from WitSec! Where the fuck do you get off trying to blame this all on me?"

Again, Hannah and Penelope popped up at their sides, and she welcomed the warm touch of Penelope's hand on her upper arm, offering her support. It was then that she noticed that tears were rolling down her cheeks. "You need to back off her, man. Seriously, you don't make women cry."

"Back off. You don't even know us," Dave hissed, and this was the final straw for Erin.

"You leave her alone! At least someone is trying to support me and be kind. How could I have been so wrong about you? We're done. I'll bunk with Penelope for this trip, so you don't have to be in the same room as me, but I can't do this anymore. My heart hurts too much."

The sobs began in that moment, and from the corner of her eye, she watched Hannah's friend, Grace, come up to them and give a calming look at the group. "Hey, you're David Rossi, right? The author? I'm working on my second book, and I would love to pick your brain, and since we're stuck on this tin can for a long time yet, would you mind if we chatted?"

There was something so soothing about the way that she spoke that Erin was completely all right with Hannah leading her up to first class. "Man, you do not know how close I was to just hauling you away from him! Has he always been so toxic?"

Erin shrugged a little, letting Hannah pull her down into the comfortable seat. There was something about the young woman that just set Erin at ease, and she found herself grasping for words. "No. We've just been through a really rough situation, where he thought I was dead. We've been muddling along for the last few months, but it just isn't working."

"Wait, now that you say that, are you? Oh my gosh, you are. I remember hearing about that in the news, since I was in New York City for a con at the same time. I can see why you guys might have had a rough time. But doesn't he realize that you being alive is one of the greatest gifts the universe could have given him?"

"I guess not."

She let out a disconsolate sigh, and Hannah reached out, squeezing her hand tightly. "My friend Mamrie would say that you deserve a drink. Is there anything that I can get for you? Being in first class has its perks!"

A light, watery, laugh escaped Erin's lips as she shook her head. "I don't drink. Up until the incident with Curtis, I had been sober for over a year. Just another thing that the life I led before has stolen from me."

"At least let me get you some water or a snack. I can't cook while we're in the air, so you won't be treated to your own personal Drunk Kitchen."

"You'll have to get me up to speed, I don't know all that much about vlogging."

"Well, you came to the right place, let me tell you," Hannah replied, digging around in her bag before pulling out a tablet. "I won't show you my first video, since that is ancient history, but I'll show you my most recent one."

Erin nodded and watched the screen, finding herself enchanted with what the young woman was showing her. And she hoped that this was the silver lining in what was quickly shaping up to be a very dark cloud in her life.


	6. Chapter 6

Grace didn't know why Hannah had so quickly become attached to these new women they had met, but she knew that once someone entered her sphere of attention, they were there permanently. And so, she listened with what she hoped was an appropriately interested smile as David Rossi droned on and on about his writing process. There was nothing similar to what he wrote and what she wrote, but still if it kept him from bothering his partner, it was all good.

Glancing up to first class, she saw that Hannah and Erin had their heads buried in something in Hannah's lap, and she thought that it most likely was a tablet. _I wonder which video she's showing Erin?_ she thought as she focused back on David. Just then, Hannah glanced back and gave her a toothy grin, causing her face to relax a little as well.

"Is Dave here boring you to death, miss?"

Grace looked up to see a devastatingly handsome man giving her a concerned smile. She shook her head a little before glancing back at David. The older man's cocky grin set her teeth on edge for some reason, and she tried to shake the feeling, given that they had just met and she didn't really know all that much about him. "No, we were having a fascinating conversation. And you are?"

"Aaron Hotchner with the Behavioral Analysis Unit," he replied, reaching his hand out. She shook it with confidence, letting her smile sparkle. "I will need to talk to him for a few minutes, however. My seat next to Penelope is open. I'm thinking that you've already been introduced?"

Grace nodded as she got up awkwardly, trying not to stumble over the seat arm or fall into Agent Hotchner's arms. Though she had an idea for something new to try with Chester when they were finally alone together in a few weeks. A low giggle slipped from her lips as she made her way back to Penelope, plopping down in the seat next to her and releasing a quick, frustrated, breath. "He's a handful, isn't he?"

"You have no idea, Grace. It's been a long year for him, but it was worse for Erin, and he just doesn't understand that. This anger is from his lack of understanding her sorrow." Grace nodded a little, wondering what the backstory was there. "And it really is a long story, one that I have no business telling, since it is so personal to Erin. Suffice it to say, she was in WitSec for twelve months, and her children are having a hard time adjusting to having their mother back. It sounds trite, but when you have to be someone else for that long, it changes something inside of you. And I keep trying to hug the hurt out of her, but it doesn't seem to be working quite yet."

"You love her."

The words tumbled from Grace's lips before she could stop them, and she began to worry her lip between her teeth as the blood drained from Penelope's face. "As a friend, yes," the woman said in a rush, touching her hair before tugging on her earlobe. "Nothing more."

Grace was about to refute that statement when she saw that Penelope looked close to tears. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with loving someone. Hannah loves someone."

"Really?" Penelope whispered, seeming to perk up at the thought of learning some good gossip. "But you probably can't tell me who, can you?"

"The most I can say, since they're keeping the relationship off camera at the moment, is that she'll be at the con, and maybe we'll all meet up for drinks and you can be introduced. After everything that she went through dicedt, is that she' some good gossip. "nd I keep trying to hug the hurt out of he with her previous relationship, it makes sense that she'd take things slow."

Penelope nodded as she gave her a quick smile. "Well, I can keep things quiet, believe me. Now, tell me about this new book of yours. What's it going to be about?"

Grace smiled at her as she settled back into the seat. "Well, it's going to be funny, that much I know, other than that, it really is up in the air. Which does not endear me to my publisher, at all, since they want chapters yesterday. I wish that creativity worked well under pressure, but it seems like every time I try to buckle down, the words slip from my mind."

"I keep telling Rossi this, but he never listens to me. When I was in high school, and I felt the need to get my words out, I would do a focused sprint time, like for thirty minutes or so. In that time, I only wrote, putting down what I wanted to say and never editing it. I found that I got my papers done quite quickly, too, and could go on to other things. I know, not everything works for every writer, but it's always worth a shot. Right?"

"Yeah! And that is helpful, since I am always on the lookout for different tips and tricks."

The rumbling of the drink cart caught Grace's attention, and she looked up to see the flight attendant stop by them. "Can I get you anything?"

"White wine?"

"Of course! And for you, miss?"

Penelope tapped a finger against her lips. "Apple juice, I suppose. And some wine?"

The man nodded and handed over what they had asked for before asking the next row of people for their order. Grace cracked open the small bottle and took a large sip, shuddering a little at the quality. "I hope that Harto is at least getting the good stuff up in first class. At least your friend will be well taken care of, she hates to see someone being bullied like that."

"I don't like it, either. I just wish that I could fix everything in their lives. I was hoping that this would be a good thing for them, since a trip can always bring people together. Though it looks like this is going to just end up tearing them apart. I've seen the aftermath of their arguments, but never has it been this bad."

Penelope opened the can of juice and gulped at it, as if she was trying to cover up her tears, and Grace nodded in sympathy. "Well, there's still time, you know. And when you're on the other side of the world, away from everything that you know and love, it makes the little pieces of home that are nearby all the more dear."

Grace wondered where that advice was coming from, since it was unusual for her to wax philosophical. But it seemed to set Penelope's heart at ease, since her face relaxed a little more. "You know, I didn't even think about that. Thanks, Grace!"

She nodded as she sipped at her wine once more. "Shit! I bet I won't get any service when I go back up to first class." Penelope giggled as she shook her head. "Oh, you think this is funny, but I know that the snacks up there are much better than back here. I remember when I could only afford economy, enough so that I crave the snacks, especially on an overseas flight."

"Well, I did smuggle some contraband aboard," Penelope said as she rummaged around in the bag at her feet. "Would you care for some Twix?"

She held up two packages, and Grace gave her the largest grin she could muster. "You definitely know the way to this girl's heart," she said as she took one of the set and tore it open. "And this might just be a bit better than what they would offer up there, anyway." They shared a laugh before launching into an easy conversation about the way YouTube had helped to shape the course of Grace's life.


End file.
